Ruling, opposition parties resume Eid diplomacy

ANKARA

Political parties exchanged traditional Eid al-Adha visits on May 28 in Ankara, with ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) meeting for the first time in three holiday periods.

Delegations from the two parties met at the AKP headquarters in Ankara as part of the traditional interparty holiday visits held during major religious holidays in Türkiye.

The CHP suspended holiday visits with the ruling party following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu last year, a move that escalated tensions between the government and the opposition. Since then, the parties had skipped reciprocal visits during three consecutive religious holidays.

Resumption of the exchanges came amid struggle for control of the CHP following last week’s court ruling overturning the party’s 2023 leadership election. The decision removed Özgür Özel from the chairmanship and restored Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

The court ruling followed a video released by Kılıçdaroğlu and calling on the CHP to “purify itself,” intensifying divisions within the party over the legal proceedings. He is listed as a victim in the lawsuit concerning the convention.

According to Turkish media reports, the latest meeting was described by officials as a step toward maintaining political dialogue despite continuing disagreements on major domestic issues, including judicial rulings involving the CHP and debates over opposition leadership.

The AKP hosted representatives from 16 political parties throughout the day, including the Nationalist Movement Party, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), the İYİ (Good) Party and smaller conservative and center-right groups. Separate AKP delegations also paid visits to opposition parties.